Mahindra XUV500 launches in Australia; A powerful twin turbo variant in the works

Kaustubh Shinde, They say sooner or later your passion finds you. Sometime in late 2009, I started writing for IAB and ever since then it has been a roller coaster ride for me. An amazing experience that has taught me a lot, taken me to new places, driven some great cars and met some amazing people. When you don't find me on IAB (very rarely), you will find me either at a coffee shop or an eatery or at the nearest gadget store.
Hope you enjoy IAB as much as we do!

The front wheel drive W8 version is launched for an entry price of AUD 29,900 (16.58 lakhs INR). The all-wheel drive version will set you back by $32,900 (18.24 lakhs INR).

The XUV500 is launched with an intent to start a price war. The closest competitor to the XUV500 in Australia is the Holden Captiva (Chevrolet Captiva in India). In Australia, the diesel Captiva is available in both 2WD and AWD and is priced at $35,490 and $39,490, respectively.

Thus, the XUV500 enters the land down under with a sizable price advantage. The price difference is essential because Mahindra has hardly any brand value in Australia.

Our friends at CarAdvice have heard from an insider that Mahindra also has plans to launch a twin turbo version of the XUV500 generating a mountainous 171 bhp and 400 Nm of torque. However no official confirmation is available on the same.

The biggest drawback for the XUV500 in the Australian market is the lack of an AT option which many Australian motorists and petrolheads have expressed in the comment boxes of various articles we've posted on the XUV500. Mahindra should fix this soon as they are said to be in talks with companies (including Hyundai) to outsource a 6-speed auto box.